Formulation and evaluation of Chitosan/Pluronic F-127 hydrogel containing phycocyanin in treatment of gingivitis

Abstract

Gingivitis is one of the gum inflammatory diseases affecting the health of the human oral cavity. Delay treatment initiation of gingivitis increases progression (irritation, redness, and swelling) and development of periodontitis which may lead to cause tooth loss or drop. Phycocyanin (PC) in the cyanobacterial crude extracts is a major pigment constituent with significant anti-inflammatory property to treat gingivitis. This thesis aimed to develop and evaluate biocompatible hydrogels encapsulating crude extracts from Arthrospira platensis (C005H and C005L) and Chlorella sp as a drug delivery system for the treatment of gingivitis. The results showed the total phenolic content (TPC) value of the crude extracts was in the range of 2 to 7 μg GAE/100g, the purity was in the range of 2~5%, and it exhibited more than 85% inhibition in the protein denaturation inhibition assay, and over 70 % inhibition tested using lipoxygenase (LOX) assay. Hydrogels containing PC crude extracts were perfectly prepared by the electrostatic interaction between chitosan and pluronic F-127. The stability of the chitosan/pluronic F-127 hydrogels were confirmed upto 2 months at room temperature. PC-loaded hydrogels showed an over 70% cumulative release within 6 hours under artificial saliva conditions. Moreover, the release from PC-loaded hydrogel still presented anti-inflammatory potential. The anti-inflammatory activity of the supernatant of the released solution from the hydrogels after 6 hours was approximately 15-47 % by LOX inhibition assay. The hydrogel carrier and loaded hydrogel did not exhibit any cytotoxic on mouse fibroblast cell lines (L929) and human gingival fibroblast cells. This study showed that crude extract PC-loaded chitosan/pluronic F-127 hydrogels were biocompatible with those cells and indicated stability at room temperature for up to 2 months. Overall results suggested that the crude extract PC-loaded chitosan/pluronic F-127 hydrogels were biocompatible, inexpensive, effective, and could be used as an alternative application for treating gingivitis.